Sir Norran Lomasa Dubbed Grand Master
LIGHT'S REACH - Sources linked to the Royal Guard across the Kingdom are announcing that Earl Norran Lomasa, Knight-Errant of the Crown and former Duke of House Lomasa, has been made Grand Master of the Royal Order of the Sovereign Crown by the Sovereign Prince of the Blood, Serath Kahar, at a private ceremony within Dawnstar Keep. Granted the standing of Royalty, the Grand Master of the Royal Order will adopt and revise a role similar to that of the former Justiciar position of the recently disbanded Imperial Tribunal, and as such will become the highest legal authority within the Kingdom, second only to the Ruling Steward (as the Prince's status as Sovereign places him above the law). However, it is believed that much of the actual administrative work will remain in the hands of the men and women who work at the Imperial Tribunal building, and who have handled the administration of the Royal Law (with guidance from the Sovereign Prince) since the former Justiciar Soravyn Zahir vanished from the Kingdom shortly after His Grace the Ruling Steward came into power. Free of the binds of paperwork, the Grand Master will be able to maintain his expanded role of also acting as the leading Knight-Errant of the Royal Order, and will have the final say in regards to the operational assignments of other Knight-Errants, and the approval and denial of possible candidates for Knighthood from the realm's House-Knights. It is believed that the number of Knight-Errants will be expanded from the "Imperial Order" count of one-hundred to a total of five-hundred with the revisions to the organization as it adopts the Imperial Tribunal's mantle, combining the duties of the old Imperial Tribunal with the role of the old Imperial Order to better define what the (revised) Royal Order actually does within Fastheld. Knight-Errants will continue their established role of wandering the realm and righting wrongs as they encounter them as independent agents operating within the Royal Law. Equally, they will be held to standards higher than that of the Royal Guard and the Nobility, and expected to act as shining beacons of hope and aid to the People of Fastheld - much in the same way that the Ordinators of the Imperial Cult act as beacons of faith and Light, though with more legal authority. Equally, the Royal Guard will be expanded to take over some tasks that were previously handled by the Imperial Tribunal, while the Imperial Cult will take over the duties of the (short lived) Office of Penumbral Affairs within the next month or two. It has been stated that the Imperial Tribunal will remain named as such due to being a site of historical importance (akin to the Imperial Throughfare), and will continue to be the hub of the administrative side of the Royal Law. Equally, the Bronze Hall will remain the traditional location where Knight-Potentials are tested and tried before being inducted into the ranks of the Royal Order. It is expected that a home "Chapter House" location that will house a large number of Knight-Errants and provide a base of operations will be constructed within Elkmont within the next year.